Eight hospital wards in Lothian have been closed on account of an outbreak of norovirus, the winter vomiting bug.

The health board claimed that till now 14 patients were showing symptoms of the seasonal bug. There were 532 confirmed cases of norovirus in Scotland at the end of December, compared with
133 in December 2008.

Meanwhile, three wards at Dumfries Infirmary were reopened after an outbreak affected more than 100 patients there.

The recent figures suggest that the number of patients across Scotland hit by the virus has doubled in the last month. In addition, the latest data shows that there had been 11 wards closed, compared with three at the same time in 2008. Only Greater Glasgow & Clyde health board reported more wards closed over the two weeks.

The labor called on the Scottish Government to set up a National Reference Laboratory to help track cases of the bug.

The bug is gaining realization to be fatal for those with underlying health problems.

Leading microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington said, "A National Reference Laboratory would help us follow the evolution of new strains and perhaps enable us to explain why the virus has become so common".